


the boys of ash and stars

by manbun_zukka



Series: folklore [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Ambassador Sokka, Angst, Established Relationship, Firelord Zuko, Fluff, Kinda, Light Angst, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Sokka (Avatar) Needs a Hug, Zuko (Avatar) Needs a Hug, for the first little bit, so if the plot is a bit patchy pls don't come for me, soulmates who can feel each other's feels, they all nedd hugs god dammit, this went through like at least four total rewrites
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:34:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27338002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/manbun_zukka/pseuds/manbun_zukka
Summary: Dear Sokka,Let it be known that I suck at writing letters. I’m no good at making my thoughts into words, not like you. But, Agni, I miss you so much, and letters are the only way that we can communicate, at least for now. So I’m going to try.---Dear Zuko,Tui and La, you liar. You don’t suck at writing letters. Have you ever read a letter that you wrote? Your words are like water and fire all at once; flowing and perfect and calm, but still a transparent description of your pain, like a vine that’s threaded with both flowers and thorns.Can’t you see, Zuko? Your words are infecting me too.---[the first sequel to my work: you drew stars, upon my scars (but now i'm bleeding)
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: folklore [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1972417
Comments: 29
Kudos: 185





	the boys of ash and stars

**Author's Note:**

> here we go! get ready to rumble, my guys! this is the first sequel to my zukka soulmate au: you drew stars, upon my scars (but now i'm bleeding), so if you haven't read that, I would reccomned doing so now! you don't have to, of course, but some stuff will make more sense in this series if you do. just in case it wasn't clear, this takes place about three months after the war, so Sokka and Zuko's relationship is still pretty new. I've got some great plans for this series, so make sure to subscribe or bookmark it if you want to read more!
> 
> I hope you enjoy!
> 
> xx,  
> CJ

_Dear Sokka,_

_Let it be known that I suck at writing letters. I’m no good at making my thoughts into words, not like you. But, Agni, I miss you so much, and letters are the only way that we can communicate, at least for now. So I’m going to try._

_It’s been a week since you and Katara left for your Tribe with your father and Bato. It’s been two weeks since I was coronated. It’s been a month since the end of the war. It doesn’t seem real, and it’s like time is passing slower than it should, now that you’re gone. Agni, I wake up every morning and I turn over to your side of the bed, and sometimes I still get surprised that you’re gone._

_What’s happening to me? When did my mind decide that the left side of the bed is always yours? That the chair next to mine in the meeting room is meant to be filled by you? That the empty space at my side is a gaping hole that’s left by your absence?_

_Aang is leaving to be with Katara at the Pole next week. He said that he wants to swing by the Northern Tribe and recruit some waterbenders and young families to go down south and help rebuilding. I think that’ll be good, don’t you? To see your Tribe growing again after it suffered during the war. I can’t tell you how proud of you I am, Sokka. Everything that you’ve done, it’s amazing. You’re amazing._

_Toph is back in Gaoling with her parents. She told me that she wants to look for her soulmate. Lin, isn’t it? Apparently they knew each other before the war, but Toph hasn’t seen her since. She’s trying to reconcile with her parents as well. Spirits, I hope that goes well. She’s only thirteen, that’s how old I was when I lost my family, and I don’t know if I can watch another person go through that. We’ve got to be there for her, Sokka. We have to._

_I miss you so much. You can’t even imagine. I miss your smile, I miss your eyes, I miss your hands and your body and your warmth. I miss_ you, _Sokka, more than you could ever know. I’m going to keep fighting though, and I’m going to keep missing you, and loving you, even from afar._

_You’re still my everything._

_Love,_

_Zuko_

  
  


~~~🌀~~~

  
  


_Dear Zuko,_

_Tui and La, you liar. You don’t suck at writing letters. Have you ever read a letter that you wrote? Your words are like water and fire all at once; flowing and perfect and calm, but still a transparent description of your pain, like a vine that’s threaded with both flowers and thorns._

_Can’t you see, Zuko? Your words are infecting me too._

_In all seriousness, I miss you too. I miss you more than I ever thought it was possible to miss someone. I think that maybe you’re feeling the same way. I get what you mean, about the empty space. Sometimes, I turn and expect you to be there, because I remembered a joke, or a moment, or a word, and the only person who I can share it with is you._

_I’ve taken to pressing my fingers to my wrist, like you used to when you meditated. Whenever I let that feeling linger, you press back from wherever you are; in a conference room, writing a letter, reading over a scroll that will help to change the course of your country’s history._

_Things are good here. Aang came down yesterday, he had a few waterbenders with him that rode down on Appa, and he told us that there were boatloads of young families and waterbenders who were heading for us to help rebuild. You’re right, I am excited, and I’m so happy to see my country growing and prospering and turning from a tiny village into a bustling city, but my life feels empty without you by my side._

_The universe says that we have to be apart, right now, and it’s right, but it doesn’t feel right to be away from you. I feel like I’m not useful here. Dad and Bato are working hard on unifying the tribes, and Katara and Aang are helping to teach new waterbenders and heal people and build up the village, and what am I doing? Nothing. I feel like a figurehead of sorts, the non-bending hero of Team Avatar, the one with the boomerang, the funny guy who’s great with people._

_All I want to be right now is yours._

_You know, I did a bit of slam poetry during my time in Ba Sing Se. So, I figured that I could spare a verse or two for the love of my life. I’ve been working pretty hard on this, so no making fun, okay?_

_Here you go, Zuko._

_The Boy of Fire and Ash_

_He has a spirit like fire,_

_and a heart like the wind;_

_untamable and yet so solid that I swore I could hold it in my hands._

_His chest is a fortress,_

_walls up high around his heart so that no one can get in_

_and break it._

_I climbed those walls._

_I scaled up the slippery stones and took the jump from the top ledge, hoping against hope that_

_he’d be there to catch me._

_And he was._

_Arms wide open, the boy of fire and ash welcomed me in_

_his golden eyes bright with a fresh spark._

_He reminds me of the sun, sometimes._

_Both of them are bright and seemingly never ending in their love,_

_stretching for miles and miles._

_I fell in love with the moon, once._

_And now I’ll fall in love with the sun instead._

_I hope you liked it._

_All my love,_

_Sokka._

  
  


~~~🌀~~~

  
  


“My nephew,” Iroh said warmly, ducking his head into Zuko’s room. “Shouldn’t you be sleeping? A young Firelord needs his rest.”

Zuko sighed, rubbing a hand across his face. He’d already changed into sleeping robes, but he was sitting at his desk, staring down at Sokka’s most recent letter. Fucking _poetry._ Who the hell sends _poetry_ to their soulmate from across the world.

(Sokka, that’s who.)

“Don’t worry, Uncle, I was just reading over some letters,” Zuko said, looking up at Iroh from his desk in the corner. “I’ll be done in a bit, and then I’ll go to sleep, alright?”

“You must miss him,” Iroh said softly, stepping over the threshold and placing a hand on Zuko’s shoulder. “Sokka, I mean. It must be hard for you two to be apart.”

Zuko sighed again. “I do,” he whispered. “Of course I do. It’s just- he was such a big part of my life for so long, and now it’s just _strange_ for us to be apart again. I hate it.”

“I can understand that,” Iroh murmured, squeezing Zuko’s shoulder in support. “Nephew, I think it’s time that we talk about my departure.”

“Uncle, I’ve been telling you for weeks now that you’re welcome to go back to Ba Sing Se whenever you want to,” Zuko insisted, turning around in his chair to look Iroh in the eyes. “I don’t need you to stay here.”

Iroh sighed, and then smiled slightly. He picked one hand up off of Zuko’s shoulder and tucked a stray piece of hair behind his ear, and let out another deep breath. “I’ll miss you, Zuko,” he said finally. “The doors of the Jasmine Dragon will always be open to you.”

Iroh was gone the next day.

  
  


~~~🌀~~~

  
  


_Dear Sokka,_

_I’m having a few regrets. I mean, no big regrets, like joining Aang, or finding you, but smaller, more unimportant ones. I’ve been telling Uncle for weeks now that I’d be fine with him leaving, but now he’s gone, and I feel so alone._

_Uncle is in Ba Sing Se. Toph is with her parents. Suki is with her warriors. You and Katara and Aang are together in the South Pole. And I’m here, and I feel so alone. Everyone is afraid of me, because they think that I’ll be like Ozai. The servants bow so deeply that I’m afraid that they’ll break their noses on the ground when I pass by. Nobody treats me like I’m just a seventeen year old who wants peace._

_But really, Sokka, that’s all I am. Everyone is afraid of me, but they still want me to be strong, and helpful, and know what I’m doing. How can I know what I’m doing when no one trusts me enough to help? How can I know what I’m doing when all I want is to be treated like a_ person, _and not the Firelord. I’m not my father, Sokka, but everyone treats me like I am._

_But overall, the person that I miss the most isn’t Uncle, or Toph or Suki or anyone else. It’s you, Sokka. I miss your laugh, and your smile and your very presence in the palace. Everything feels so dull without you here, and I can’t help but wonder why. Because I lived here for most of my life without you, and you were only here for three weeks, but now that you’re gone everything feels wrong again._

_You’ve left a hole, Sokka, not only in my life, but in my heart as well._

_I don’t mean to complain. Things are good here, better than I ever dreamed they could’ve been, but I still miss you. I miss you every minute of every day, and I’ll keep missing you until the moment that I’m in your arms again. I know that it’ll be a while until then, but I’ll keep counting down the minutes until you’re back by my side._

_In your last letter, you wrote me a poem. I think it’s only just of me to return the favor. Remember that I’m not as well versed as you are, (your poem was beautiful, by the way, don’t disparage yourself) but I can still try._

_You Must Be the Stars_

_You say that I’m like the sun._

_You fell in love with the moon once, my love. How could I ever compare?_

_You say that she shines just as bright in the sky as she did on earth._

_Most days, I don’t feel like I’m shining at all._

_The sun is supposed to glow. The sun is supposed to emit warmth,_

_everlasting._

_You make me feel warm, my love._

_You make me feel like I’m shining from the inside out._

_If you’ve fallen in love with the moon and the sun, then you must be the stars._

_You fill up every hole in my universe, bright and perfect and whole._

_You exist everywhere and nowhere, so close that it feels like I could reach out and touch you_

_and yet you’re still so far away from me._

_They say that the sun is also a star, my love._

_Because you and I are one._

_I hope that this does you justice, Sokka. I could never put into words just how much you mean to me, but maybe this poem does you the smallest bit of justice._

_All my love,_

_Zuko_

  
  


~~~🌀~~~

  
  


Sokka sighed as he laid eyes on his father, tightening his hands on the strap of his bag. He tapped gently on the icy doorway of Hakoda’s office, taking a deep breath.

“Sokka,” Hakoda said. He looked up from whatever papers he was reading and took in his son’s worried stance, brows furrowed. “Is something wrong?”

“Please don’t be mad,” Sokka breathed, stepping further into the room and fiddling more with his bag. Hakoda raised his eyebrows. 

“Sokka, what is it this time?” Hakoda sighed. He took his reading glasses off of their perch on his nose and turned his attention fully towards his son, waiting for Sokka to continue.

“I’m leaving,” Sokka blurted out after a moment of silence. “Tonight. I’ve got a ticket for the eight o’clock ferry. To the Fire Nation.”

Hakoda’s face softened at this. “Sokka-”

“I know I’ve only been home for two months!” Sokka exclaimed, interrupting him before he could get more than a word in. “But I don’t feel like you guys _need_ me here. And I- I feel like I’ll be more needed there. Aang told me that Zuko’s instigating this- this Ambassador program, and they’re putting people from all four nations on the council, and Iroh sent me a letter last week and he thinks that I’ll be _good_ to fill the position for the South Pole, and Zuko just sent me this letter, and I just- I need to be back with him, Dad. I mean, you’ve always had Bato, and Aang and Katara have each other, but I just- I can’t be away from him anymore. I need to go back.”

“Sokka,” Hakoda repeated, placing both of his hands on Sokka’s shoulders. “It’s fine. You can go. You _should_ go. I’d never keep you from your soulmate.”

Sokka breathed out a breath of relief. “Thanks, Dad.”

Hakoda smiled down at him. “You should go and say goodbye to Katara and Aang, and get some food from your grandmother for the journey. I’m sure you don’t want to miss your ferry.”

Sokka smiled and nodded, and at the last minute he pulled Hakoda into a hug. “I’ll write you, okay?”

Hakoda hugged him back, nodding into his hair. “Okay.”

With that Sokka left the igloo that Hakoda and Bato shared, walking down the street towards where Katara and Aang were staying with Kanna. He pulled up the flap of animal hyde that acted as the front door and stepped into the main room, seeing Kanna leaning over the cooking fire, preparing whatever was for dinner, and Katara and Aang sitting by the fire pit in the center of the room, their hands woven together as they talked quietly.

Sokka took a deep breath. “I’m going back to the Fire Nation.”

Katara looked up sharply at the sound of his voice. “What?” she exclaimed, standing from her place next to Aang, who looked both cold and dejected by the loss of her presence at his side. “Why? We’ve only been back for two months, you can’t just _leave!”_

“Katara, you don’t need me here,” Sokka insisted, his left hand clenching into a fist at his side. Somewhere very far away, Zuko was getting ready for bed, cooling down from the day with his evening meditations, and Sokka could feel soft sparks hitting the inside of his wrist. Mindlessly, he rubbed the pain away. 

“Sokka, what are you _talking_ about?” Katara pressed. “Of _course_ we need you here! You’re the chief’s son, you’re a hero of the Hundred Year War, you give people _hope!”_

Sokka sighed. “Katara, _Gran Gran_ gives people hope. You and Aang and Dad give people hope, but you’re all also doing other things to help! You and Aang and all of the Northern benders are rebuilding the village into a city, Dad’s unifying the Tribes, and Gran Gran is doing just about everything else! I could stay here, and give people hope, or I could go to the Fire Nation and actually be _useful!_ And- and there’s a new Ambassador program that Zuko’s starting, and Agni, Katara, has it never occurred to you that I miss my _soulmate?”_

Katara let out a dejected puff of air, looking towards the ground. Sokka could see a light blush tinting her cheeks, indicating that it really hadn't ever occurred to her. 

“Kat, I- I miss him like crazy,” Sokka breathed, stepping forward and grabbing her hands. “I miss him more than anything else. And- and as much as I love being here with you, and Dad, and everyone else, I need to be with him. That’s just where I need to be. And I’m not- I’m not just _giving up_ on being home, okay? I promise I’ll be back. But for now, I’ve got to be with Zuko.”

She looked back up from the ground, smiling sadly at Sokka and squeezing his hands. “I know,” she sighed. “I get it. Go. Be with him. But you’d better write me, or I swear to Tui and La I’ll kick your ass.”

Sokka chuckled. “I will, I promise.” He reached out and pulled Katara into a hug, chuckling when he saw Aang’s hopeful face over her shoulder and opening his arms further so that Aang could pile onto the hug. They pulled back after a moment and Sokka sighed sadly, smiling softly at the pair of them. “I’ll miss you dunderheads,” he whispered. “Don’t forget to visit.”

Kanna cleared her throat from where she was standing by the cooking fire, hands on her hips with a spoon in one of them. “I think you’re forgetting a few goodbyes,” she said pointedly, cracking a smile as Sokka fully let go of Katara and Aang and pulled his grandmother into a hug, squeezing her tightly and swaying her back and forth. 

“I’ll miss you too, Gran Gran,” Sokka chuckled, squeezing her once more before letting go and smiling.

“Ah, let me give you some jerky for your trip, I’m sure you don’t have enough,” Kanna murmured, rummaging through the kitchen area of their igloo and grabbing a sack of seal jerky for Sokka. “Here,” she smiled, handing it to Sokka and patting his cheek. “Now go!” she said. When Sokka hesitated in the doorway, she waved a hand at him and repeated, “Go! You don’t want to miss your ferry!”

Sokka chuckled again and waved to the three of them, setting a brisk pace as he walked towards the ferry. He reached the docks just as Yue was rising, and gave his fair to the man in the ticket booth. As he boarded the ferry, Sokka sighed, smiling slightly. 

He was going home.

  
  


~~~🌀~~~

  
  


Zuko’s eyes were blurring as he stared down at the letter in front of him, trying to decipher the letters despite the late hour. It didn’t help that King Bumi’s handwriting was shaky and hard to read at any hour of the day, but it was nearing midnight and Zuko had been up since the son rose.

He sighed, rubbing a hand across his face. What he wouldn’t do to be in bed. 

“Shouldn’t you be asleep by now?”

Zuko jumped in his chair, looking around wildly for the source of the noise. The voice was familiar, too familiar, and Zuko thought for a moment that it was a sleep-induced hallucination. But then he turned, and there he was.

Sokka, dressed in familiar blue, leaning against the doorframe. 

Zuko shot up out of his chair, still staying a small distance away from Sokka just in case he was, really, a mirage. “Sokka?” he whispered in disbelief. “What are you doing here?”  
  


At this, Sokka’s smile softened into something gentler, more loving. “You said in your letter that you felt alone. So, I’m here now. And you’re not alone anymore.”

Zuko’s resolve broke at that, and he swung his arms around Sokka (sleep induced hallucination or not), holding onto him tightly. Sokka reciprocated the gesture quickly, stepping out of the doorway and holding tightly to Zuko’s waist, swaying them back and forth. 

Zuko didn’t realise he was crying until the first tear slipped down his cheek, and then he just pressed his face into the crook of Sokka’s neck, reveling in the familiar scent of ink and the sea. Sokka’s arms felt like home, and as he pressed a gentle kiss to the top of Zuko’s head, Zuko came to the realization that _Sokka_ was really what was home for him.

Not the Fire Nation. Not the palace, or the bedroom that he’d slept in as a child, not even the tiny apartment in Ba Sing Se. Home was Sokka’s arms wrapped around him tight, Sokka’s chest rising and falling beneath his head while they slept, Sokka’s lips, Sokka’s deep, blue eyes. 

Sokka, Sokka, _Sokka._

Zuko was laughing and sobbing at the same time, maybe, but he was home, in Sokka’s arms, and Sokka was laughing too, and maybe he was crying alongside Zuko, but it didn’t matter because he was _back,_ they were _together,_ and the rest of the world seemed to melt away.

Zuko didn’t know how long they stood like that, wrapped up in each other, before Sokka’s fingers settled under his chin and he tilted his face up just enough for their lips to meet, soft and warm. Zuko sighed into the kiss, letting his tight hold on Sokka’s shoulders loosen until his arms were twined lightly around his neck. 

They parted after what could’ve been hours, and Zuko tucked his face under Sokka’s chin, smiling into the skin of his neck. “Hi,” he whispered, realising that he hadn’t given Sokka a proper greeting.

“Hi yourself,” Sokka murmured back, pressing another soft kiss to Zuko’s hair. “Now, I really did mean what I said when I told you that you should be sleeping. C’mon, I’ll braid your hair.”

Zuko nodded and pulled back, grabbing Sokka’s hand and tugging him towards the bathroom so that both of them could get washed up. Afterwards, Sokka led Zuko back into the bedroom and sat down on his bed, gesturing for Zuko to sit between his legs while he weaved his now-much-longer hair into a delicate fishtail braid.

All the while, Sokka talked. He talked about Katara, and Aang, and Hakoda, and Bato, and Kanna, about the new families and waterbenders coming down from the North, about how since the soldiers came home from the front there had been an influx of marriages and pregnancies, how the day before Sokka left Hakoda had signed a contract with all of the other Tribes that unified them and put Hakoda in charge. Katara was working hard on teaching some of the Northern girls how to combat-bend, and Aang had finally earned his waterbending mastership with Pakku. They talked amongst themselves about Toph and Suki, and the letters that they’d received from them in the past months. Zuko told Sokka about the happenings of the Fire Nation, how Mai and Ty Lee had gone together to Kyoshi Island, how Azula was in a facility by the ocean, how Iroh sent him a new tea blend every week.

“Done,” Sokka said softly after a lull in the conversation, tying off Zuko’s braid with the tie from his wolftail. Zuko stood and stretched, running his fingers through Sokka’s freed hair.

“Your hair’s gotten longer,” he whispered, reveling in how the silky strands now brushed Sokka’s shoulders. “I like it. Looks nice.”

Sokka blushed lightly, bringing his hands up to grasp Zuko’s where they had fallen on his shoulders. “Thanks. Your’s has too. It’s easier to braid now.”

Zuko turned in his hold and tangled his fingers further in Sokka’s hair, tilting his face downwards into another kiss. In the months since the war had ended, Sokka shot up like bamboo, gaining a good few inches in height, while Zuko stayed the same stubborn height that he’d been for a few years. Although the height difference was annoying to Zuko, it had it’s perks, like being able to cling onto Sokka’s shoulders while they kissed without needing a reason why. 

They parted after a moment, and Zuko sighed, laying his head back onto Sokka’s shoulder. Sokka chuckled down at him, resting his cheek on the top of Zuko’s head.

“What was that for?” he asked softly, rubbing a hand up and down Zuko’s back.

“Nothing,” Zuko sighed. “I’m just glad that you’re here.”

Sokka chuckled again. “I’m glad I’m here too,” he said gently. “Now, c’mon. A Firelord needs his rest.”

Zuko let out an exasperated sigh. “Have you been talking with Uncle?”

“Maybe…” Sokka mumbled. 

Zuko unwrapped his arms from around Sokka’s shoulders and let himself be guided into bed, sinking gratefully into the plush mattress. He felt Sokka laying down next to him and curled into his side, nestling his neck into the juncture of Sokka’s shoulder and sighing.

It was good to be home.

**Author's Note:**

> aaaaah, there we go! the first sequel to you drew stars is up! I'm honestly really proud of this work, and I hope that yall liked it too! i've got so many great ideas for the series, so make sure to subscribe or bookmark if you want to see more! please leave a comment and kudos down below if you feel so inclined, they always make my day!
> 
> xx,  
> CJ


End file.
